7 - Robert Hutchison Architecture

‘7’ was a temporary art installation by New York artist
Sarah Biemiller and Seattle architect Robert Hutchison.
Installation at Alderbrook Station
Their installation utilized seven floor hatch locations throughout Alderbrook Station, a historic timber frame structure on
the Columbia River formerly used for net making and repairing. Each floor hatch was filled with monofilament fishing
line stretched taut from the first floor to the underside of the
7
roof structure. Within the columns of fishing line the artists
explored the notions of compression/tension, solidity/void,
and structure/connection. The use of pre-existing hatch locations resulted in a site-specific installation that encouraged
the viewer to explore the entirety of the Alderbrook Station Net
Shed. In 2008 the installation was one of four projects awarded a AIA Seattle Honor Award for Washington Architecture.
Sarah Biemiller & Robert Hutchison
September 24 - October 23, 2005
7: Installation at Alderbrook Station
Sarah Biemiller and Robert Hutchison
Seattle, WA
Copyright 2011
Title Page photograph by Don Frank
7: Installation at Alderbrook Station
Sarah Biemiller & Robert Hutchison
September 24 - October 23, 2005
Alderbrook Station, located slightly east of Astoria
along the Columbia River, is the site of the former
Union Fisherman’s Cooperative Packaging Company,
which once supported a thriving salmon fishing industry.
Remaining structures on the site include a Net Shed,
Boathouse, and Bunkloft. The Netshed is a 3-story timber
structure which was used by fishermen to repair and store
their gill nets. Each of the structure’s three floor levels is
penetrated by seven existing floor hatch locations spread
uniformly throughout the building, which were used to
drag fishing nets vertically between the three levels.
Net Shed, looking northwest
Today the site is owned by architects Daren Doss and
Lisa Chadbourne, who use the Net Shed as a gallery
for the display and exhibition of local artist’s work, and a
venue for contemporary art installations. Daren and Lisa
have kept the building essentially unchanged as they
found it. The interior is littered with gill nets, tools, equipment, coffee cups, and old couches left by the fishermen
who used the building to support their livelyhood.
Net Shed, Interior
Section
Floor Plan showing Hatch Locations
Second floor hatch locations superimposed
over First floor hatch locations
Robert Hutchison and Sarah Biemiller’s proposal for an
installation inside the Net Shed developed out of numerous
influences, including past installations by Sarah, previous
architectural investigations by Robert, and conversations
and correspondence between Sarah and Robert over the
course of several years concerning art and architecture.
Their proposal was inspired by the natural and man-made
qualities that pervade Alderbrook Station: the movement
of tides, the light that reflects off the Columbia River, the
memories and history contained within and around Alderbrook Station, and the structure of the Net Shed itself.
The final proposal involved a series of installations to be
located throughout the Alderbrook Station Netting Shed.
The specific location and dimension of each installation
was dictated by the locations of existing floor hatches dispersed throughout the shed. Each installation was constructed of numerous strands of monofilament fishing line
suspended from the bottom of the Net Shed roof framing.
The resulting column of thread passed through the floor
hatch openings down to the first floor level, where it was
Sarah Biemiller, “The Sky Starts at Your Feet”, The Philip Feldman Gallery,
Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland OR, March 2002
pulled taught and tied to metal eyelets that were screwed
into the wood floor decking.
“Conduit, Conduct, Convey”, by Robert Hutchison
Shinkenchiku Competition, 1997
Weaving Factory, Guandong Province, China
Photographs by Robert Hutchison
The logistics of the installation required time-consuming
documentation of the existing building, intensive preplanning, and a high degree of precision, necessitating
the use of laser levels to ensure that each fishing line was
installed perfectly vertical. To connect the fishing line to
the floor and roof surfaces, small stainless steel eyelets
were screwed into the wood roof and floor, above and
below each of the seven hatch locations. The fishing line
was then fastened at the roof eyelet locations and passed
down through the third and second floor levels, pulled taut,
then fastened to the first floor eyelets.
To create subtle differences between the
seven columns of thread, each column was
assigned a different thread pattern. To heighten the relationship between first floor and roof,
a rule was established that the fishing line
never be permitted to touch the sides of the
floor levels. Installation was complicated by
the fact that none of the hatch locations at the
second and third floor levels are in complete
alignment.
Installations afford the opportunity to anticipate and
learn from the unexpected. The qualities of the individual columns of thread varied by time of day, weather
conditions, and the vantage point of the viewer. As one
passed through the space, some columns would disappear, while others would reappear. Physical aspects
of the building, such as the timber frame and window
mullions, were translated into the columns of fishing line
through the medium of light.
Photograph by Don Frank
Photographs by Don Frank
Photographs by Don Frank
Final Column Patterns
Photograph by Don Frank
‘7’ was dismantled in November 2005. In 2008 the project
was one of four projects awarded a AIA Seattle Honor
Award for Washington Architecture. The jury members
noted:
“This ambitious project is strongly located in a specific place and time, yet simultaneously entirely
conceptual. Engaging history through the visceral
evocation of memory, 7 repositions its context in a
way that gives you immediate recall of its experience.
Extracting two innate qualities of the existing environment – its post-and-beam structure and its wonderful
quality of light – the work creates a new ephemeral
structure that speaks to both but is neither. A great
example of the integration of architecture and art, this
conceptually ambitious project breathes life into the
faded recent history of public art.”
Patricia Patkau
Nader Tehrani
David Baker
The artists would like to thank Daren Doss and
Lisa Chadbourne for the use of their building and their support during the installation.
Materials used in the installation included:
33,077 feet of “Billfisher” Clear Monofilament Fishing Line
(25 lb. test)
2,414 Screw Eyelets (Size 217 ½)
2,414 “Beadalon” Silver-coated Crimp Tubes (Size #2)
Installation of ‘7’ occurred from September 21st through
September 24th. The Artists would like to thank the following
people for their hard work before and during the installation:
Jake LaBarre
Nicole Abercrombie
Dustin Stephens
Chris Armes
Sharon Khosla
John Armes
Olaf Broderman
Daren Doss, Lisa Chadbourne and Bella
All photographs by Robert Hutchison unless
noted otherwise.
Sarah Biemiller is an artist based in
Philadelphia PA. She received her B.A.
from The College of Wooster, Wooster,
Ohio and M.F.A. from The University of
Colorado, Boulder. Since 2007 she has
served as Senior Program Associate at
Pew Fellowships in the Arts in Philadelphia. Sarah can be reached at:
2322 St. Alban’s Place
Philadelphia, PA 19146
Robert Hutchison is an architect based
in Seattle WA. He is a graduate of the
Master of Architecture program at the
University of Washington and a principal
of Hutchison & Maul Architecture. Robert
can be reached at:
4010 Whitman Ave N
Seattle WA 98103
www.hutchmaul.com